NATIONAL BOOK COUNCIL (ESTABLISHMENT) [ S.L. 605.12 SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 605.12 NATIONAL BOOK COUNCIL (ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER 5th December, 2017 LEGAL NOTICE 339 of 2017, as amended by Act XXIX of
- The title of this Order is the National Book Council (Establishment) Order. Citation.
- For the purposes of this Order, unless the context otherwise requires - Interpretation. Amended by: XXIX.2019.
- "the Act" means the Education Act; Cap.
- "author" means any person listed in the database of the National Book Council as a holder of public rights; "the Council" means the Council established under article 4; "ISBN" means the International Standard Book Number as defined by the ISBN Manual Guidelines; "ISBN Manual Guidelines" means the international ISBN manual guidelines issued by the International ISBN Agency; "melitensia publications" means any publication which bears an ISBN issued by the Council or a foreign publication which has content dealing with, or related to, Malta or Maltese matters; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for Education; "National Book Prize" means the annual event organised by the Council, in accordance with guidelines published in the Gazette, in which locally published books from previous years are given official recognition; "publisher" means any natural or legal person that publishes books or similar publications which are identified by an ISBN issued by the National Book Council and follows the guidelines of the National Book Council.
- The objects of this Order are to establish the National Book Council. Objects. 4.
(1)There shall be a Council, to be known as the National Book Council, which shall be autonomous and which shall carry out functions related to the book industry, authors and publishers. The Council shall be a publicly funded and autonomous institution which acts as a cultural and educational agent with the aim of promoting books and reading in society and to represent the Establishment of the Council. 1 2 [ S.L. 605.12 NATIONAL BOOK COUNCIL (ESTABLISHMENT) interests of authors and publishers alike.
(2)The Council shall be a body corporate having a distinct legal personality and shall be capable, subject to the provisions of the Act, of entering into contracts, of acquiring, holding and disposing of any kind of property for the purposes of its functions, of suing and being sued and of doing all such things and entering into all such transactions as are incidental or conducive to the exercise or performance of its functions under the Act. Affairs and activities of the Council. Functions and duties of the Council. 5. The affairs and activities of the Council shall be under the direction of the Board established under article 7, and shall be dealt with by the members of the Board, which, for this purpose, shall be represented by the Executive Chairman who shall be able to speak and act on its behalf. 6. The functions and duties of the Council shall be: (
- a)to undertake and co-ordinate events and other activities aimed at increasing book consumption in Maltese society; (
- b)to support and assist authors and publishers by advocating for them and safeguarding their interests in state level policies; (
- c)to act as a cultural agent and to participate in, and where necessary lead, public-private initiatives aimed at promoting Maltese books; (
- d)to facilitate the distribution of Maltese books and publications containing an ISBN beyond the local market; (
- e)to participate in and benefit from foreign book fairs; (
- f)to build and maintain an updated database of all books or similar publications containing a locally issued ISBN which have been published locally; (
- g)to hold a minimum of two annual public consultation meetings with authors and publishers; (
- h)to consider and decide upon issues and demands raised by authors and publishers while serving as a mediator between conflicting interests; (
- i)to issue official ISBN in Malta in accordance with ISBN Manual Guidelines; (
- j)to encourage and support current and future melitensia publications deemed to be, at the sole discretion to [ S.L. 605.12 NATIONAL BOOK COUNCIL (ESTABLISHMENT) the Council, of significant cultural, educational and intellectual value which may or may not be considered profitable from a marketing perspective due to their specialised nature; (
- k)to allocate and regulate funds for the purpose of financing projects aimed at further enhancing the skills and capabilities of both authors and publishers; (
- l)to explore offshore possibilities for local authors and to create opportunities for contact with translators, foreign publishers and distributors; (
- m)to execute an international strategy for the translation and dissemination of Maltese literature around the world; (
- n)when deemed necessary, to represent authors and publishers in international institutions and public fora in order to defend their rights and interests; (
- o)to distribute public lending rights; (
- p)to organise the National Book Prize; (
- q)to organise the Malta Book Festival; (
- r)to organise the Malta Book Fund; and (
- s)to perform any other function as may be assigned to it by the Minister. 7.
(1)The Council shall be governed by a Board composed of nine members to be nominated by the Minister and appointed by the Prime Minister for a period of three years, and the members shall be eligible to be re-appointed after their term of office expires. Board.
(2)The Prime Minister, upon recommendation of the Minister, shall appoint an Executive Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson from among the members of the Board.
(3)Only authors, publishers, academics academics may be members of the Council. and retired 8.
(1)A member of the Board may at any time be removed from office by the Prime Minister on the grounds of inability to perform the functions of his office as required, either because of mental or physical illness, or for any other reason due to which the member would no longer be fit to occupy such office or due to misconduct.
(2)A member of the Board may resign from his office Removal or resignation. 3 4 [ S.L. 605.12 NATIONAL BOOK COUNCIL (ESTABLISHMENT) through a letter addressed to the Prime Minister. If any member tenders his resignation or is removed from his office by the Prime Minister or should the office of any member of the Board become in any manner vacant, the Prime Minister, upon recommendation of the Minister, may appoint a qualified person to take up this post and any person who is so appointed shall keep on occupying that post up to the termination of the term of office of the person being so substituted, and such person shall be eligible to be reappointed.
(3)Any absence or vacancy among the members of the Board or any participation in its meetings by any person who is not entitled to attend, shall not invalidate the proceedings of the Board, insofar as there shall be a quorum of not less than one-half of the number of members of the Board plus one.
(4)Subject to the provisions of this Order and of any regulations made under the Act, the Board shall generally regulate its own procedures.
(5)The Minister may issue guidelines regarding the procedures to be adopted by the Board in the course of its operations. Employees. 9.
(1)The engagement and termination of the engagement of the employees of the Council shall be a function of the Board, acting through the Executive Chairperson.
(2)All employees previously performing duties with, and any other public officers currently deployed with, the public service shall be regarded as employees of the Council under the same terms and conditions prevailing at the date of coming into force of this Order.
(3)Subject to the provisions of the Act and to the directives of the Council, the executive and administrative affairs and the organisation of the Council and the administrative control of its officers and its employees, shall fall within the responsibility of the Executive Chairperson.
(4)The Executive Chairperson shall also be responsible for the implementation of the functions of the Council and, without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, shall develop such strategies, policy and guidelines required for the implementation of the purposes of the Council, provide information and give advice to it on any matter and perform such other duties as may be assigned to him from time to time by the Council.
(5)Budget. Annual work plan. The Executive Chairperson shall report to the Council.
- The Council shall have its own budget and shall regulate its own procedure.
- The Council shall, two months before the start of the [ S.L. 605.12 NATIONAL BOOK COUNCIL (ESTABLISHMENT) business year, present the Minister with an annual work plan.
- The Council shall compile and send to the Minister an annual report not later than six weeks from the start of the business year, on its activities during that year. Annual report. 13.
(1)The Council shall meet at least once every two months or as necessary. Meetings.
(2)Meetings Chairperson. shall be convened by the Executive 14. The Minister shall appoint a secretary to keep minutes and a record of the meetings. Secretary. 5